The Alfa Romeo 4C Concept debuted at the 81st Geneva International Motor Show in March 2011. The 4C is a small lightweight rear-wheel drive sports car.

Marchionne’s comments come hours after Fiat announced a deal with Japanese automaker Mazda to begin producing a two-seat sports car for the Alfa Romeo brand and a Mazda sports car in 2015.

The partnership, according to Marchionne, is "going to provide a great support of Alfa coming back into the United States.”

According to Fiat, the agreement calls for both Mazda and Fiat to "develop two differentiated, distinctly styled, iconic and brand-specific roadsters featuring rear-wheel drive." The vehicles are planned to be powered by engines unique to each brand.

The new Alfa Romeo roadster will be developed for the global market, and will be based on the architecture of the next generation Mazda MX-5.

Both rear-wheel drive vehicles will be built at Mazda’s Hiroshima, Japan plant, according to Fiat.

Marchionne said bringing a full lineup of Alfa Romep vehicles with the right powertain options to North America is one of his "key" objectives.

“A lot of work has gone on in the choice of architectures and models,” he said. "But we’ve got to make sure that we have the powertrain set up.”

The sold out Inforum event was presented by Chrysler and KPMG. It is in conjunction with the Inforum’s AutomotiveNEXT, an industry group that brings together experts and practitioners who collaborate on automotive industry issues, share best practices and bring forth new ideas.

Inforum is a professional women’s alliance with members across the state. The group is based in Southeast Michigan and has chapters in Mid-Michigan and West Michigan.